Bathing after meals DOES NOT cause stomach ache!

Make your grandma this the next time she stops you from bathing after meals.

Everyone in my family is dead against the concept of bathing after meals. There are times when I ve woken up late and all I expect is to grab lunch, take a shower and move out of the house. But that s not permitted. Till almost two and a half decades I lived by this rule with questioning it. All I knew was that taking a shower or bathing after meals can cause stomach ache and indigestion. Also, it wasn t just my family, this myth had been doing rounds in many families. So it was time to find the truth behind it. After all, not everything that your folks tell you is wrong. Often, these myths are backed by science.

So we contacted Dr Philip Abraham, Consultant Gastroenterologist, P.D. Hinduja Hospital & Medical Research Centre and asked him if bathing immediately after meals interfered with digestion in any manner and here are his inputs on it:

Digestion requires blood flow. Bathing immediately after meals causes the blood flow to divert to the skin to help maintain body temperature. This may interrupt the digestion process slightly. However, it does not cause any stomach ache or indigestion issues which is why the rule of not bathing immediately after meals is not valid. You may also like to read about reasons for bathing everyday.

You can bathe immediately after a meal without worrying about indigestion. Taking a shower, bucket bath, a tub soak are all safe and do not impair digestion in any way. If you already suffer from indigestion, then bathing with cold water is better. Find out whether hot water bath is good for you or a cold water one.

However, strenuous activities like swimming must be avoided after meals as they affect the digestion. Here are other things you must never do after meals.

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